Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 (Tas)

Sex Industry Offences Act 2005

An Act to impose certain restrictions on the operation of sexual services businesses in order to protect children and sex workers from exploitation in the sex industry, to safeguard public health, to amend the Criminal Code Act 1924 , the Evidence (Children and Special Witnesses) Act 2001 , the Justices Act 1959 and the Police Offences Act 1935 and for related purposes [Royal Assent 24 November 2005]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART 1 - Preliminary

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 .

2. Commencement This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

3. Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – child means a person under the age of 18 years; commercial operator means – (a) a person who is not a self-employed sex worker and who, whether alone or with another person, operates, owns, manages or is in day-to-day control of a sexual services business; and (b) if the person referred to in paragraph (a) is a corporation or a body corporate, a director, within the meaning of the Corporations Act, of that corporation or body corporate; commercial sexual services business means a sexual services business operated or managed by a commercial operator; prophylactic means a condom or other device used to prevent the transmission of a sexually transmissible infection; self-employed sex worker means – (a) a sex worker who solely owns and operates a sexual services business; or (b) a sex worker who, together with no more than one other sex worker, neither of whom employs or manages the other, owns and operates a sexual services business; sex worker means a person who provides sexual services in a sexual services business; sexual intercourse means sexual intercourse as defined in section 2B of the Criminal Code; sexual services means – (a) an act of sexual intercourse; or (b) any activity where there is any form of direct physical contact between 2 or more persons for the purpose of the sexual gratification of one or more of those persons including, without limitation, the masturbation of one person by another; sexual services business means a business providing sexual services for fee or reward; sexually transmissible infection means an infection that is transmitted through sexual contact between people, including the following: (a) syphilis; (b) gonorrhoea; (c) chlamydia; (d) human immunodeficiency virus; (e) hepatitis; (f) any other prescribed infection. (2) For the purpose of the definition of "commercial operator" in subsection (1) , a reference to a commercial operator is a reference to – (a) a person who determines any one or more of the following: (i) when or where a sex worker will work; (ii) the conditions in which a sex worker will work; (iii) the amount of money, or proportion of an amount of money, that a sex worker will receive as payment for sexual services; or (b) a person who employs, supervises or is in day-to-day control of any person referred to in paragraph (a) .